


Trials of a New Life

by NightmareRush



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Atem getting to know himself, F/M, Gen, M/M, Yami Yuugi | Atem has his own body, the gang getting to know Atem, things ranging from fluff to slice of life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2018-12-23 09:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11986767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightmareRush/pseuds/NightmareRush
Summary: No one expected a technicality to cause such a hang up. Looking back it should have been obvious from the start. It was staring them right in the face the whole time. Now Atem is here to stay, at least until Yugi dies. Until then, life was about to get hectic, but after solving the puzzle three years ago, when hasn't it?One Shots loosely tied together featuring Atem in the modern world.





	1. Birds of a Feather, Stuck Together

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the set up chapter. Not much happens but it explains why Atem is here and not dead yet. Important for understand some things later on down the road. Enjoy.

When Atem walked through the doors of the afterlife everyone thought that was it. He’s gone now, at peace and getting his well deserved rest. That was how it was supposed to go down. No one expected a technicality to cause such a hang up, but looking back on it the whole thing should have been obvious from the start. It was staring them right in the face the whole time.

 

In order to pass into the afterlife the heart of Atem’s soul must be weighed against the feather of truth. But Atem didn’t have a heart to be weighed. The heart was inside Yugi, his reincarnation, as the jackal headed Anubis explained just beyond the gate. It should have been obvious, Ishizu felt like hitting herself for not realizing it sooner. Of course Yugi had the pharaoh’s heart, that’s why they bonded so easily. They were, quite literally, two halves of the same whole. She felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner.

 

At least, by Ra’s grace, he was given his own body to inhabit as he waits out his time left on Earth, his exact appearance from 5000 years ago, until Yugi’s death, upon which they both will find peace. Marik noted that it was a bit grim, but also fitting.

 

“On the bright side Ammut didn’t eat you. That’s always a good sign, right?” Marik laughed uneasily.

 

“She wouldn’t have been able even if she wanted to,” Atem told him, “Without a heart to weigh I could not be judged. Osiris would have had to call the beast off,”

 

“Oh… Right. Fair point,” Marik rubbed the back of his head.

 

“I’m sorry Atem,” Yugi apologize. It was all his fault Atem couldn’t be with his friends in the afterlife.

 

“Yeah. Tough break,” Joey added, “All this work for nothing,”

 

“I wouldn’t say for nothing,” Atem said, “We saved the world and I regained my lost memories. I’d say we accomplished quite a lot here,”

 

“A hard fought battle indeed, my king,” Ishizu commented, “It is unfortunate that you did not get a well deserved reward,”

 

Atem just shook his head, “I have the patience. I’ve waited 5000 years to get this far, I can stand to wait a little longer. Besides, I get the feeling our work is just getting started. Events such as these are not without fallout. I’ve had enough enemies come out of the woodwork to know more are sure to follow,”

 

“This is true,” It was Tea’s turn to talk, “Someone was bound to have noticed something, and I’m sure this much magic in a single location will attract some unwanted attention,”

 

“I’ll have my satellites track all movement in the aria for the next coming days. If anything happens we’ll know,” Kaiba said, “Still not sure if I believe in all this crap. As far as I know this could all be an elaborate thick,”

 

“Skeptical as ever, though I can’t say I’m surprised. A kind gesture none the less, I thank you,” Atem spoke.

 

“So… What now?” Yugi asked, fearing the answer he would be given.

 

Atem was alive now, by some miracle or some curse. He had been denied passage to the afterlife because apparently the piece of Atem’s soul that was needed was a part of Yugi’s as well. It was all his fault and even though Yugi knew the Pharaoh was incapable of ever being mad at him and most likely didn’t care, Yugi still felt guilty. And even more worrying, what was going to become of his partner now? Would he have to stay in Egypt with his ever loyal clan, or would he come back with them? If so, where was he going to stay? Well, with him obviously. They were partners, two halves of one whole, but that brought with it a whole slew of other problems. The apartment above the game shop was small. There was a spare room but it was mostly used for storage, and knowing the Pharaoh as he did he’d most likely want to share with Yugi. There was also the fact that Atem didn’t have any sort of documentation. No birth certificate, no I.D, no Passport, no nothing. Maybe they could convince Kaiba to help on that front, or Ishizu, who seemed to have the power and influence as well, though how she amassed it is beyond anyone’s knowing. Things were just so complicated. How was any of this ever going to work?

 

“He’s staying with us, obviously,” Joey grinned, putting an arm around Atem’s shoulder and bringing him in for a sideways hug, “Ain’t that right, Other Yuge?”

 

“I’d have to split my duties between my followers and my friends but, yes, I would very much like to stay with all of you. If it would be allowed, of course,” Atem turned his attention to Solomon. It would be Yugi’s grandfather who would have the ultimate decision on this matter.

 

“I don’t see why not,” Solomon smiled, “You’re my grandson too, after all. Plus it gives me another set of hands at the shop,”

 

Atem didn’t know why but such a statement had caught him off guard. Solomon viewed him as his grandson? He supposed that made sense. He’s technically been a part of the family for the better part of three years now, and he always had this feeling that the old man knew more than he was letting on in the beginning. He shouldn’t be surprised but he is and he finds himself grateful to be considered family by this man.

 

“Of course,” Atem smiled.

 

“Aww. Are we doing family time? Yeah, we’re doing family time,” Marik butted in with a cheery smile.

 

“Marik,” Ishizu scolded.

 

“What?” her younger brother asked innocently and the woman just shook her head.

 

“Are you people done? The amount of gooey feeling in this room is making me sick,” Kaiba spoke.

 

Why did they hang around with him again?

 

\---

 

“Ah, ha! Home sweet home! Domino, I’ve missed you!” Joey cheered as he walked onto the airport pavement.

 

“What an adventure. I’m beat,” Tristen said.

 

“No more traveling for me. I could sleep for a whole year after all we’ve been through,” Tea stretched as she walked off the jet.

 

“Just one? I could sleep for two,” Duke said.

 

After everything was said and done, Atem’s tomb sealed and the tomb keepers’ jobs fulfilled, everyone returned to Domino on one of Kaiba’s company jets. Kaiba, weather it be from kindness or from not wanting his ultimate rival to be out of his reach, had made documents that make it as if Atem Sennen has always existed. Birth records, school records, I.D card, even a passport with several stamps in it indicating travel between Egypt, Japan, and America. Born in Cairo, Egypt, he had ties to the Mutou family and was coming to Japan for school and university. He came from an influential family back in Egypt of royal descent and the way that they found out about his relations to Yugi’s family was through Solomon’s many trips out to Egypt. It was a story with a few holes and was bordering on improbability but, according to Mokuba, stranger tales have been told.

 

“You two could probably pass as brothers if you really wanted to so no one would think to question it,” Mokuba smiled and then handed Atem a pack of papers.

 

Atem smiled at the young Kaiba’s comment. In some ways they already were.

 

“Welp, here’s everything that makes you a legal person in the modern era so don’t lose these. Also here’s your school schedule. Don’t lose that either. Since you’ve been inside Yugi’s head for all of his high school career you’re mostly caught up on things like reading and writing and recent history but to play it safe we got you a private tutor. So starting next week, be at the mansion by ten. You start classes at Domino U in the fall. Got it?” Mokuba said.

 

“I think I can handle that, yes,” Atem said as he looked over papers that were just handed to him.

 

“You better,” Kaiba told him, “I won’t stand for my rival being incompetent,”

 

Kaiba then began walking away, Mokuba trailing behind, cheerfully waving goodbye and reminding Atem to not be late. Joey began grumbling about how much of a jerk Seto was but Atem just smiled to himself. The Seto he knew from his past suppressed his emotions too. Over time he had learned to read the finer details of his cousin’s expressions and voice inflections. Kaiba didn’t want to admit it, but he needed to know Atem was close by and well taken care of. Perhaps, for his own sake and peace of mind. Atem knew Kaiba needed his rival, he had seen it in their first meeting in what felt like a lifetime ago. Atem had cured Kaiba of whatever torture had been haunting him after that duel but left him lost in the process. Kaiba set his new drive of defeating who he thought at the time was Yugi. Atem gave him the drive to be better. He should stay to insure Kaiba doesn't lose that drive.

 

“We should get going,” Yugi smiled at him and Atem nodded.

 

“Yes,” Atem smiled.

 

This was it. This was real. Yugi couldn’t believe it. Atem was really here. He was alive and he was his own self, no longer a spirit from a time long past with no memory of who he was or his purpose. He was now just Atem. Yugi’s other self and now his own self too. Yugi’s teacher, his mentor and moral support, his most dear friend. They’ve come so far, they’ve grown and learned a lot about themselves along the way. Atem has always been there to support and help Yugi, and when things got tough he’d always stand with him, never giving up on him or their friends. Now it was his turn to return that kindness. Atem has been nothing more than a soul trapped within a puzzle for the last 5000 years, he’ll need help getting adjusted to having a body of his own again and to life in the modern day. Life was going to be a bit hectic, but after he first solved the puzzle, when hasn’t it?


	2. The Little Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last of the set up chapters. Seto being Seto and Atem loves poking Yugi's buttons. This one provides more of a solid base for the rest of the one-shots to stand on. Enjoy.

Getting adjusted to life with Atem was easy enough. He has always been there, now he was just more… solid. Though Yugi still felt a little bad that Atem’s spirit couldn’t find peace, he was immensely happy that he got to stay. Yugi honestly didn’t know what he’d do without him. They spent every moment of free time together. They were practically inseparable, just like before. Even so, Atem having a physical body of his own had brought with it new insight to Yugi’s dark half’s mannerisms, quirks, and sense of self.

 

For starters the guy looked like royalty. Well, he was, but still. Arm bands, chokers, rings, bracelets, earrings. All gold. He was probably the only person on the face of the planet that could pull it all off. He certainly did look like a modern day Pharaoh. Pair that with his exotic looks, formal speech patterns, polite regality, and commanding presence you definitely had yourself a quote, unquote “chick magnet” as Joey kept calling him. Within a few short days he had already somehow amassed his own horde of fangirls, rivaling that of Bakura’s small army of stalkers.

 

Joey was, of course, jealous of the attention the Pharaoh got from the female population. Duke found it hilarious and Bakura felt a bit bad for the former spirit. Yugi on the other hand felt bad for the girls. Atem never noticed them and when he did he was always concerned for their wellbeing because of how red their faces were and how blood would occasionally shoot from one of their noses. Yugi knew all of those girl’s efforts were in vain. After having the Pharaoh living inside his head for so long he felt like he had a good gauge on these sorts of things. Even still, he was just happy Atem was getting along well with his own identity, even if it annoyed Tea a bit that His Majesty couldn’t pick up on extremely obvious hints. If he was being honest, he found that part a bit hilarious too.

 

There were also some non-sex appeal related things Yugi and the others had noticed about their friend. His love of books, his fascination with the little things everyone else just took for granted, how he would cock his head to the side when he was confused, his overprotective nature. Most humorously was how they found out he was a lefty.

 

It was Kaiba that was the first to notice this little detail. It had been during one of Atem’s tutoring sessions and the mansion. The usually too busy for anything billionaire had walked by the room that was now the Pharaoh’s own personal classroom and paused when he spied how Atem was jotting down notes. The fact that he was using hieratic script wasn’t what caught his eye, if anything that was to be expected from someone from ancient Egypt. It was the fact that the words and symbols were slightly skewed, like the hand writing them wasn’t quite used to it. He had been writing them with his right hand and that was all the indication Seto needed to figure it out. Atem’s dominant hand was his left, and though he could use his right with a degree of accuracy it wasn’t nearly as precise. A few days later Kaiba marched into the game shop, startling both Yugi and a few of the patrons in doing so, and shoved a left handed duel disk into Atem’s hands.

 

“There, take it. If I’m going to defeat the Pharaoh and reclaim my top dueling status it’s going to be because of my superior skill and intelligence, not because you keep fumbling with your cards,” Kaiba declared.

 

“Must you be overly dramatic about everything?” Atem asked, completely unfazed by any of Kaiba’s antics, having long gotten used to them.

 

“Hello pot, my name is kettle. You’re black,” Kaiba said.

 

“What does kitchenware have anything to do with dueling?”

 

The older of the two Kaiba brothers glared and then turned to Yugi, “Teach your boyfriend what idioms are. I won’t stand for him sounding like a moron ether,”

 

Yugi blushed madly at that, “Hey, wait a minute, he’s not my-”

 

“Heterosexual life partner, then. Whatever. I have places to be,” with that Kaiba was gone, leaving an embarrassed Yugi, questioning customers, an unimpressed Pharaoh, and a snickering grandpa in his wake.

 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Yugi had said under his breath as he tried desperately to get back to work and forget the last few minutes had ever happened.

 

“What was that dear, I couldn’t hear you,” Atem teased with a snicker in his smirk.

 

“Oh, now you grow a sense of humor?! Stop teasing me, you jerk,” Yugi yelled and stormed off with Atem’s laughter in the background.

 

He’d get Atem back for that. Somehow. Someday. Maybe. Ehh…

 

Atem had a few issues, none all that surprising, his anger being one of them. All of their friends knew he had a tendency towards lashing out at people who he thought posed a threat to Yugi and co. and most of them knew just what he was capable of doing. Those that didn’t, like Duke, were filled in. Penalty games and cruel punishments aside his rage did seemed to be quelled in Yugi’s presence. It made sense in a way. Atem was the darker half of his soul so his darker emotions would be amplified because of that, at least according to Bakura who was there resident expert. Being near Yugi and the lighter half of their soul would balance him out. 

 

He also had his fears, mainly of the dark. Yugi understood it but it was probably Bakura and Marik that related to it the most. Atem had spent millennia in the shadow realm and in the confines of the prison-like puzzle, he lost his memories and his sanity to it. Unlike the other spirit he was able to be tamed and regain some sort of sense of his former self but the damage had already been done. He wasn’t the same person that got trapped within the puzzle all those centuries ago, and the constant threats and shadow games didn’t help. He’d tence up at unexpected moments when something reminded him of his imprisonment or if he suddenly found himself surrounded by darkness. Yugi felt so bad for him but had no idea how to help. It looked like it’ll have to be something Atem would have to overcome on his own but Yugi vowed to be there for him whatever way possible.

 

“Other me? You okay?” Yugi sat down next to the Pharaoh who was sat on the floor of his bedroom, up against the bed, a spot reserved for when something was bothering his darker half.

 

“Hmm?” apparently Atem had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed Yugi approach, “Yes, little one. I’ll be fine,”

 

Yugi wrapped his arms around him and buried his face in his chest.

 

Atem responded by returning the embrace, “I’m glad to be here too, Aibou,”


	3. Fangirls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girls notice Atem, but Atem doesn't notice the girls. Major charicters include Atem and Joey.

“I’m telling ya man, it’s not fare,” Joey sighed dramatically, causing Atem to look up from his book.

 

“Hmm? What’s not fair, Joey?” the Egyptian asked, not understanding where his friend’s outburst was coming from.

 

For once Atem was without Yugi, the younger having forced him out of the house without him saying that he needed to get out on his own more and experience the world for himself. Atem didn’t particularly want to, if he was going to do something he’d rather do it with Yugi, but his aibou’s insistence made him give. The thought that he might be smothering his partner crossed his mind and that Yugi perhaps just wanted some space and time to himself. Atem made a mental note to apologize to him later and try harder as to not make Yugi feel so uncomfortable from now on.

 

He had decided to spend the day at a local cafe, their usual hangout spot of a burger joint not really being his style. He had run into Joey by complete chance but gratefully welcomed the taller boy’s company when it was offered. Besides Yugi, the blond was the one person in their friend group that he had spent the most time interacting with. They got along rather well and were nearly on the level of trust and understanding as he was with Yugi, though Atem very much doubted that Joey would ever be on Yugi’s level.

 

Joey’s outburst had admittedly startle him a bit with its unexpectedness. Joey was prone to such outbursts but to Atem’s knowledge there was nothing in the area that warranted such a response from his hot headed friend. Perhaps something that was troubling him was on his mind.

 

“Is something the matter?” he asked with concern.

 

“Eh?” Joey looked up at him as if he forgot Atem was in his presence, “Na, not really, Yams. It’s just your fan girls are stalking you again,”

 

“Fan… Girls?” Atem looked around in confusion and the spotted a group of girls watching them, more specifically him, from a table across the street, “Them?”

 

“Yeah, ever since you’ve been showing up at the school gate to meet up with us after school they’ve been following you around. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed,” 

 

“I… Honestly haven’t,” Atem admitted, “Something similar happened a lot back in Egypt. Mahad would always get frustrated and shoo them away. I never understood it,”

 

Joey blinked. No one ever really brought up Atem’s ancient past, mostly because they all thought it was a touchy subject, and in a way Atem supposed it was. Thinking back on the people he had to leave behind did hurt but it was a dull, warming hurt. A kind of hurt that, though bitter, was sweet as well and brought both tears and a smile to his face.

 

Thinking it was safe to continue with how casually the Pharaoh brought up his past life, Joey pressed onwards, “So, like, you never took an interest in them?”

 

“Well, I inquired about it. Their faces got so red I worried something might be wrong with them,”

 

Again, Joey blinked. Was this guy serious? The Pharaoh had to be pulling his leg on this one. There was no way he could be so blind to a swarm of chicks drooling over him and looking at him like he was a piese of meat.

 

“You’re kidding, right?” Joey asked.

 

“About what?” Atem was starting to worry. Joey wasn’t making much sense now.

 

“Girls, for Christ sake! Girls! How can you not know when a girl is crushing on you when there’s a swarm of them right there undressing you with their eyes?!”

 

Atem looked back at them to see that most of them averted their eyes in an attempt to look casual and a few of them giggling under their hands, “Is that what Mana was constantly teasing me about?”

 

Joey was dumbfounded, “It’s official Other Yuge, you’re hopeless. How can you not tell when another person is attracted to you?”

 

“I was a bit busy running a country and trying not to die. You can forgive me for a little oversight,”

 

“This isn’t oversight, this is straight up blindness,” Joey pointed out, “It just ain’t fair. Just once I’d like a fan to notice me. I’m a world class duelist too, you know. I was a finalist in both Duelist Kingdom and Battle City,”

 

“Yes, I know. I was there,” Atem pointed out.

 

“Shut up!” Joey barked though Atem knew it was more out of frustration with the situation than with the former Pharaoh himself, “It’s just… I would ask for pointers from you but you seem to have no clue what you’re doing. Hehe,”

 

Atem thought for a moment, “Honestly, I’d imagine it’s because I’m foreign. Bakura has his own little “fan club” as you would say because of his accent, yes? I’m Egyptian and thus exotic in their eyes. A rarity. It’s nothing more than my appearance I suspect,”

 

“And when you were Pharaoh?”

 

“I was the king, and before that the crown prince. Whoever caught my eye would go from simple daughter of a nobleman or servant to bride of the earthly god. They were mostly after my status I’d say,”

 

“Gold diggers. Gotta hate em,” Joey lounged back in his chair and and Atem nodded in agreement.

 

There was silence for a moment and Atem thought it safe to return to his book but no sooner than he did, did Joey start snickering to himself.

 

“Should I even ask?”

 

“Five thousand year old virgin,” Joey snickered.

 

One of the Pharaoh’s signature sideways smirks made its way onto his face, “Well, I never said that,”

 

Joey blinked at the implications of what the ex-spirit just said and then broke out a smirk of his own, “All right! Long live the king! This lifetime or the last? Oh, who am I kidding? You only just got your own body ‘bout a month ago. When would you have time for that? Unless you and Yuge got down and dirty in that puzzle of yours. You know, I always suspected something was going on between you two,”

 

Atem just shook his head, bringing his attention back to his book. Joey’s antics when it came to this subject did amuse him, even if he was a bit uncomfortable with subject. Back in his time it wasn’t uncommon for people to be so open about things like this but even still he always dreaded when these subjects were brought up. His familiarity with Joey and his animated personality helped, even got him to play along, but he still felt a tad embarrassed. At least, by Ra’s grace, Yugi wasn’t here to overhear all of this. He’d gladly fall back into death’s embrasse if that were the case, and Yugi might just join him.

 

Joey just kept snickering at the idea of the Pharaoh, the socially awkward mess of a person that he was, on a date. With anyone. He’d probably just end up being dragged around like what happened with Tea a few years back. Poor guy.

 

The blond soon stopped however when he noticed a girl approaching their table. He recognized her from school and from across the street. She was one of the many girls whose hearts were unwittingly stolen by the Egyptian God-King. Based off the blush that currently painted her face, she had mustered up the courage to approach the object of her affections. Poor girl was about to get her heart broken.

 

\---

 

Suki had first noticed that mysterious stranger around the same time everyone else did. Dark and tan, strong with a sharp chin and lean yet chiseled features. And those eyes, narrow and crimson red. On anyone else they would be scary but they just seemed so hypnotising on him. His hair was wild with blond bangs with the rest black that bleed into crimson. It was a style she has seen around school but couldn’t place the name of the kid that wore it. Yuki? Yuma? Either way, he definitely had the whole dangerous bad boy thing down but with a touch of regality that served to make him seem so much more enticing.

 

He had been hanging out by the school gate, a few years too old to be a highschool student, probably twenty, so clearly not a parent. A college student most likely. He looked bored out of his mind but was clearly waiting for something or someone. A younger sibling maybe? It didn’t matter. He had caught her eye and she prayed to whatever god was listening that he was single and wasn’t opposed to dating a sixteen year-old.

 

Just then a small blur ran passed her, the boy with the similar hair to the new stranger, and ran right for him, slammed into him, and enveloped him in a hug. The older smiled and chuckled and hugged him back. Suki’s heart swelled at the sight. He seemed more affectionate and less edgy now that he had a small seventeen year-old clinging to him. She decided then that she was definitely going to get to know this person, and hopefully get his number too. Unfortunately the rest of the school had the same idea because the next day he was the talk of the girl’s locker room.

 

“Did you see him? Who was he?”

 

“Don’t know but Mutou and his geeky friends seem to know him,”

 

“You mean that small nerdy kid that plays Duel Monsters?”

 

“Yeah, I saw him run up to him and give him a big hug. It was so cute!”

 

“You think they’re related?”

 

“I heard Wheeler say that his name was Atem,”

 

Atem. That was a lovely name. Exotic. She could tell just by looking at him that he was Egyptian. You don’t see many of those in Japan and so what if he was a little bit on the short side and hug out with a bunch of dweebs, he was hot. And then a classmate named Lila said that her little brother said a guy that looked like the King of Games was working a Kame Game shop and the hunt was on.

 

Seeming overnight Domino’s Egyptian Prince had amassed his own fan club and they would stalk and giggle and fantasize what it’ll be like to date him.

 

“I bet he’s one of those edgy characters that’s secretly a real softy on the inside. A bad boy you’d catch petting a stray kitten,” one girl said as they all watched him from across the street as he sat reading at a local cafe.

 

“The secret romantic. I bet he’s old school, and a intelect too. He wants a smart girl,” another said.

 

“And is amazing in bed,” the whole group snickered and blushed at that one.

 

Suddenly he looked their way, which made a few promptly shut up. He and that Wheeler boy were having some kind of discussion and it seemed the blond spotted them and pointed them out. A look of confusion crossed their prince’s face and Joey too became confused before becoming increasingly animated. Soon there was a lull in whatever conversation they were having until Joey started snickering, a smirk crossed the Egyptian’s handsome face and Joey bursted out in cheers and laughter. “Long live the king” was about the only thing they could hear from this side of the street which got Suki a bit curious as to what they were talking about.

 

She didn’t know what possessed her to do this next, but she found herself crossing the street. The others were gasping, some cheering her on. It served to increase her courage. She was determined now. She was going to talk to him. She was acquaintances with Joey and they were friendly enough with one another. She’d use that as a starting point. She was going to make herself be known to her prince.

 

“Heya, Suki,” Joey greeted her upon her arrival to their table.

 

“Hello Joey. Not hanging out with Yugi today?” she asked sweetly even though Joey wasn’t the one she was here to talk to.

 

“Na, he kicked ol’ Atem here out of the house for the day so I’ve been talking his ears off for the past two hours,” Joey smiled cheerfully.

 

Atem just ignored them, his attention back on his book as he flipped the page. This dampered Suki’s spirits a bit but with had huff of determination she steeled her nerves. She wasn’t going to let this stop her. Not after she’s come this far.

 

“It’s nice to meet you Atem. I’ve seen you hanging out by the gate after school. Are you Yugi’s cousin or something?” Suki’s smile could rot teeth.

 

At the mention of his the younger’s name Atem perked up and looked up at her. Bingo. He had a soft spot for Yugi. Well, she could have told herself that based off how the small teen would always run up to him like a child would to their parents.

 

“Aibou? Yes, we’re very close,” Atem said.

 

His baritone voice made her melt on the inside and his eyes, oh his eyes. This close to him she could see the makeup that lined them. The black liner made them pop and drew attention to the sea of crimson. They were hypnotic and one could easily drown in the pools.

 

Wait… Aibou? He and Yugi were… partners? Partners how? Certainly not romantically, he just said Yugi was his cousin. Right? Whatever, it was probably nothing.

 

“That’s nice. Tell him I say hi, would you,” Was she blushing? Oh god, she was blushing, wasn’t she?

 

“We’ll see,”

 

We’ll see?! What was that supposed to mean? She knew that usually when people dress in all black they want to seem unapproachable and edgy but she didn’t expect him to be so rude. He always seemed so nice when they saw him at the school gate and he’d hug little Yugi back and laugh along at Joey and Tristan's antics. Was he just antisocial? Shy? Not very trusting?

 

“Hmm,” Atem judged her with a critical eye that made her feel uneasy, “You’re… Suki Tanaka, yes?”

 

Wait, he knew her name? Her full name? Did… Did he notice her before and asked about her? Her heart swelled but a small part of her brain said something else was going on but that part was so insignificantly small Suki paid it no mind. She was over the moon with excitement.

 

“Yep, that’s me,” Suki smiled.

 

He nodded, seemingly satisfied with himself that he remembered, “You’re one of Miho’s good friends. How is she by the way? Haven’t seen her in some time,”

 

Wait? He knew Miho? Since when, and why hasn’t she brought him up ever?

 

“Oh, yeah,” Joey spoke, “It’s been ages, hasn’t it? Since, what? Freshman year? Hey, dude, we should invite her over to the next game night. We could have our own little tournament. Winner gets be king for a week and the rest have to do what they say,”

 

“How very nostalgic,” Atem chuckled, “Don’t worry, I won’t make you wear a dog suit,”

 

“Hey now, who said you would win, hu?” Joey glared.

 

Atem just kept chuckling to himself until Joey got the underlying joke behind Atem’s words, “Oh, I get it. You’re making fun of me. Well, we’ll see who’s laughing when I whipe the floor with ya,  _ Your Majesty _ ,”

 

The way Joey said those last words made Suki feel like she was intruding on some inside joke that the two shared. Or, perhaps, Joey knew of the nickname Atem’s fans called him by. With an inward sigh, she supposed it didn’t really matter. He wasn’t at all interested, going so far as to ignore her until she mentioned his little cousin's name. When he did finally look at her and speak to her, it was regarding Miho, someone who used to be part of Yugi’s friend group. He only seemed to care about things regarding Yugi and nothing else. Guess it was time to give up. He was probably already taken anyway, and if not Yugi have the guy wrapped around his finger and would no doubt steal all the attention away anyways. 

 

“Miho’s doing fine, stressed about school, but who isn’t,” Suki smiled, “I’m sure she’d love to hang out with you guys again. I’ll tell her about your game night planes,”

 

“Sweet,” Joey smiled, “Thanks Suki, you’re a real pal,”

 

She just smiled and waved goodbye as she left them to their own devices. When she god back to the group the was hit with a barrage of questions. How’d it go? What’d he say? Did you get his number? What’s he like?

 

She thought for a moment before answering, “He’s… He’s a family oriented guy,”

 

This made them all squeal with joy, going on about how great of a father he’d be and imagining what he’d look like holding a baby. Suki just looked back across the street to see that Joey was on his phone, probably talking to Yugi, and Atem was watching in amusement. A small smiled graced her face. He wasn’t like how she pictured him in her head, but she guessed he was okay. He clearly cared a lot about Yugi and that had to mean something. She won’t ruin it for the others though. She’ll let them keep their fantasy.


	4. The Storm

Lightning flashed across the blackened sky, clouds swirled, and thunder shook Kame Game Shop as it ripped through the heavens. It had been dreary all day, the sun blocked by grey clouds that grew darker as time progressed. The evening storm wasn’t unexpected by any means but Atem still marveled at how it could make it look later than it actually was.

 

He and Yugi were cooped up in the younger's room room, Yugi playing a new video game he just got and Atem watching over his shoulder from his spot on the bed. It was a lazy day. No one was coming to the shop, the rain was coming down too hard for anyone to be out, and doing nothing was a refreshing change from having to save the world constantly. It was nice.

 

On Yugi’s desk was homework than needed finishing. Math. Atem could see it from his perch, but he wasn’t going to nag his Aibou into finishing it. Yugi has been working hard all week and he deserved a break. Tea would accuse him of playing favorites or fawning over the younger and both accusations would be 100% correct. Atem had been very aware of the power Yugi had over him from the very beginning of their partnership. Yugi had him thoroughly wrapped around his finger and he was perfectly happy with that. He owed the boy his very life so Atem was glad to be able to serve him until his dying days.

 

Lightning ripped through the sky again and a loud boom resonated through the room, shaking the shelves and pictures on the walls, the lights flickering. It made the two jump and Atem looked up at the window.

 

“That sounded like that was right on top of us. I’m surprised the power is still on,” Atem said.

 

“I think Grandpa already switched us over to the back up generator so that if the power grid does go down he won’t get locked out of the register and have to reboot the system again like last time,” Yugi commented.

 

He paused his game and climbed up onto the bed next to Atem and watched the storm outside with him for a second, “I don’t remember it ever coming down this hard in a while though. Did you ever get storms like this in Egypt?”

 

“None that I can recall. We got rain, though. Not often, but it did happen. Me and Mana would run out into the gardens and splash in the mud until Mahad came to drag us back inside. We certainly gave him a lot of hell back then,” Atem chuckled that last sentence and laid back on the bed, Yugi couldn’t help but giggle along as well.

 

“You were mean to him, doing all those things on purpose. You should apologize,” Yugi told him. It was doable now that the spirits of the cards were visible to them both, though Atem has yet to teach Yugi how to summon them at will.

 

“He was the only person in the entire kingdom that could get away with calling his Pharaoh a little shit without getting his head chopped off immediately afterwards. Fair trade if you ask me,” Atem pointed out.

 

Yugi couldn’t stop the laughter that flowed through his mouth even if he tried. Ever since Atem had reclaimed his lost memories he has been telling Yugi all sorts of entertaining stories about his childhood and the things he and Mana would get up to. Atem was such a rebel as a kid and when he wasn’t being dragged around as Mana’s sidekick on miscellaneous adventures to pull pranks on unsuspecting scholars and priests and other wacky life endangering activities, he was striking out on his own to rebel against the establishment. He even had a tattoo, something he was especially not supposed to get. An ankh on his left shoulder blade that he got after a particularly bad argument with his father that left the two fuming and made his father’s advisors make themselves scarce fast.

 

If Yugi remembered that story correctly it was because Atem had once again refused to take a wife and his father was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of heir coming from his only son. Yugi, of course, knew why Atem was so opposed to the idea of marring. His Yami was, well, not really into those sorts of things and was more than happy to put it off until his nineteenth birthday when it would become mandatory if he wanted to take the throne. Tragically his father died before Atem was coming of age causing the priests to marry him off to the closest noble daughter against his will so his place on the throne wouldn’t be contested. That was when he was fifteen. Five years later, after dying in a last ditch effort to save his people, he only had one child. A little girl that died of illness when she was only three. They never spoke of that subject again. Too painful.

 

Another burst of thunder ripped through the sky as Yugi laid down on top of Atem in an attempt to get comfy. A chuckle vibrated through Atem’s chest as a hand moved the bangs out of Yugi’s face.

 

“Am I your pillow now, Aibou?” Atem asked.

 

“Pillows are soft and squishy,” Yugi pointed out, “You’re neither of those things. You should work on that,”

 

Atem rose an eyebrow, “Are you suggesting I should put on a few pounds? Aibou, that’s highly rude of you,”

 

“But it’ll make you softer,” Yugi insisted.

 

Atem just snorted and brought the smaller boy closer to him, “You’re ridiculous, little one,”

 

Yugi looked rather satisfied with himself and Atem chose to rectify this by tickling the younger mercilessly. Yugi erupted into a fit of giggles and laughter as he tried to squirm out of Atem’s grip. This proved to be in vain. Atem was much stronger than him, always has been, and it was all too easy to keep a squirming Yugi within his grip.

 

Yugi then changed tactics, trying to block Atem’s onslaught rather than escaping it but that too proved futile. If Yugi blocked his stomach the Pharaoh just went for his ribs. If he blocked his ribs it was back to his stomach or the space between his shoulders and neck. There was no winning. Atem knew Yugi’s body just as well as he did, but then the thought struck him.

 

If he and Atem were really mirrors of each other like Atem kept saying then he should have the same weak points, right? He decided to give it a try and set his sights on Atem’s ribs. The Egyptian flinched and Yugi knew he hit his mark. He had an opening and he was going to take advantage of it.

 

Yugi began his counter assault but, as expected, it was a short lived one. Though he confirmed that the pharaoh was indeed as ticklish as he was, the fact remained that Atem was stronger and pinning the smaller boy was no challenge at all for him. At least he got the tickling to stop for the moment. Unfortunately he now had no way of escaping or defending himself.

 

“Now, did you really think that would work, Aibou?” Atem smirked.

 

“Well, it was worth a shot,” 

 

Atem chuckled and released Yugi from his hold. Yugi just laid there catching his breath and felt the bed dip beside him, signaling that Atem had laid down as well. Yugi rolled over and curled up next to him, just listening to the roll of the thunder outside. He vaguely registered Atem’s arm wrapping around him and pulling him closer. He was drifting off, using Atem as a heat source. He didn’t know how his other self perceived their shared moments like this, brotherly or something more intimate. He himself didn’t know what he thought of them. All he knew right now was that Atem was warm and the hand running up and down his spine was lulling him to sleep. 

 

“Night, Other Me,” Yugi sighed as sleep overtook him.

 

“Good Night, little one,”

 

Solomon Mutou made his way up the stairs from the game shop to the apartment above. Seeing as the storm was keeping any potential customers at bay he figured it was a good time to take log of what’s in stock and he was hoping he could get the boys to help him. When he opened Yugi’s door however he saw them curled up and fast asleep.

 

He smiled to himself. Despite everything. The Shadow Games, saving the world, the burdens put on both their young shoulders over the last four years, they looked at peace in their sleep. He closed the door and made up his mind to simply close the shop for the night. He’ll trick Atem into doing stock some other time.


	5. Eyesight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Atem and Yugi have been fighting for a month now and Joey thinks he knows what the problem is: Atem needs glasses. If only he didn't look so good in them.

It had been little over a month now of Atem being his own person and identity. It came with the expected complications. Suddenly there was this new person and a new mouth to feed at the house and chores and work were divided up between them. He fit into the dynamic of their friend group easily. He had always been there, now he just had a physical presence instead of Yugi having to translate his contributions to conversations.

 

There were moments however where he and Yugi would get into arguments. Screaming matches that came out of nowhere, started by seemingly nothing at all. They would shake up anyone who heard them. It shook Tea when she first heard them bark at each other from down in the shop. Grandpa said they were just working things out and Joey was content not to bother them, seemingly having some sort of insight to how his two best friends operated. They need to get used to communicating like normal people again, Joey had said. They couldn’t just think things and the other hear it anymore. They had to talk. 

 

The argument they overheard climaxed at Yugi yelling, “Asshole! You only ever liked me for my body!” Then silence. Then an eruption of laughter between the two combatants and all was well between them again. 

 

Later Joey would ask Yugi what the argument was all about over a game of Super Mario Bros. and got the answer. Headaches. Atem had been suffering from headaches for some time now and Yugi was growing concerned. Headaches? Joey thought that was a bit strange and thus proceeded to quiz Yugi on the predicament. 

 

When did they start? A little after they first got back to Domino. How frequently? Everyday. What is he doing when the headaches start? He didn’t know. Reading mostly. He’s always reading. Atem did a lot of that. Once they were watching a movie when a really bad one started. What part of the brain was hurting? Yugi didn’t know. Was that even a thing? Being able to tell the cause of a headache based on what part of the brain was hurting? What did Atem think the problem was? His body getting used to being alive again after being dead for so long. Joey was silent for a moment, thinking, before coming up with an idea.

 

“I think I know what the problem is. I’ll have to test a theory first but I’m pretty sure I know the issue,” Joey said.

 

“What’s the issue?”

 

“I can’t tell you before I know for sure. You’d just end up telling him because you’re concerned and then he’d deny it because he’s a suborn ass that won’t admit anything is wrong until it’s too late and a small problem becomes a big problem,”

 

Yugi wanted to argue but found that Joey was sound in his reasoning. Yugi would probably go off on his own to try and fix the problem and Atem was the type to deny any form of help until there was undeniable proof that something was wrong and that he alone could not fix it. Leaving it in the hands of Joey for now was probably his best bet on solving any of this. Joey asked what Atem’s plans were for the next day and Yugi told him Kaiba would have him at Kaiba Corp. for most of the day. Something about an Academy and him being an overseer and business partner. The Pharaoh and the CEO were growing increasingly close, to the point where Yugi dared to call them friends.

 

So Joey devised a plan and the next day they found themselves at Kaiba Corp as the sun was setting. Kaiba and Atem were in the lobby walking towards the door when they approached the two, Joey with some kind of Duel Monsters flyer in his hand.

 

“Partner! Joey!” Atem smiled upon seeing them.

 

“Who let you through security?” Seto glared at the blond.

 

“Shut it rich boy, I’m testing a theory!” Joey fired back.

 

Atem gave Yugi a questioning look and Yugi just shrugged. He honestly didn’t know what Joey was planing, he wouldn’t say, just that he was 99% sure he knew what the problem was.

 

“You have five seconds before I call security,” Seto said, restraining himself from just doing it anyway. Honestly he was a bit curious to what fresh nonsense Wheeler was up to now.

 

“That’s all the time I need,” Joey smirked and held up the poster to Atem, “Read this,”

 

Atem was startled at bit by the demand and the sudden presence of paper in front of his face but did what was asked. He looked at the page held before him, “Ok well, it says-” Joey tore the flyer away from him before he had a chance to answer.

 

“I knew it! I knew it! You can’t see!” Joey declared jumping up and down.

 

“I  _ can _ see,” Atem narrowed his eyes.

 

“No you can’t. You squint when you started to read that. Don’t pretend you didn’t. I saw it,” Joey said, “That’s why you’ve been having those headaches. You’ve been straining your eyes to read,”

 

“You’ve been having headaches?” Kaiba asked.

 

“A minimal concern,” Atem told him, “And I can read just fine, thank you,”

 

“You did squint,” Yugi said under his breath, looking down at his feet.

 

Atem glared, “I can see just fine. We’re not having this conversation again,”

 

Kaiba observed the scene in front of him and then turned to Joey, “Explain. Now. Before I throw you out myself,”

 

“When my sis was younger she had a lot of headaches too. We tried everything but nothing seemed to be wrong with her until we brought her to an eye doctor. Turned out she was straining her eyes to read and watch tv and that gave her wicked headaches. That’s how we found out about her eye problem. There’s nothing weird or magical going on with Yams at all. He just needs glasses,” Joey said.

 

Finding that answer satisfactory enough and wanting this whole exchange over and done with so Wheeler could stop polluting the air with his existence, Kaiba demanded his royal highness to get his eyes checked. No arguments. No excuses. 

 

Atem begrudgingly agreed and was in a bit of a huffy mood for the rest of the day. Joey felt a bit bad because Yugi would have to be dealing with an angry pharaoh while he could run off back home. The next day wasn’t much better in terms of Atem’s attitude but he cooled off as the week dragged on. By the time his eye appointment came around he had resigned himself to the reality of the situation. Within a week he had new frames shipped to the house.

 

Yugi had been at school when they had arrived and when he walked through the doors of the game shop all air left his lungs. There Atem was, hair tied back, glasses on, going through the week’s sales to make sure the numbers were right. There was no fancy gold, no leather or jewels. Just plain Atem in a plain dark gray shirt. And glasses. Yugi blushed madly at the sight. 

 

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he reacting in such a way to seeing his closest friend in glasses? He did look good in them. They drew attention to his face, to his eyes. ...Shit.

 

“Ah, hello Aibou. How was school?” Atem smiled when he looked up from the paperwork.

 

“H-hey,” Yugi smiled nervously and walked over to the counter, “Your glasses came in,”

 

“Ah, yes,” Atem plucked them off and held them out between them, “They’re not so bad I suppose, and if they keep me from having headaches then I guess I can get used to them,”

 

“Well, you look good in them. They make you look more mature,” Yugi stated.

 

“So I’ve been told,” Atem smiled.

 

Ah, so that would explain the good mood. Appeal to the pruned peacock’s vanity. Atem knew he looked good and he loved it when other people took notice too. And God did he look good with those glasses on. Yugi blushed again, and this did not escape Atem’s notice. His smirk grew. He put the glasses back on and leaned in so that their noses were almost touching. 

 

“What’s wrong Aibou? Are you feeling well?” he spoke just loud enough for Yugi to hear, his breath sending a warm chill through his body.

 

Yugi gulped. Air was becoming hard to find and this school jacket was suffocating him. His choker was suddenly too tight, the room too small, Atem too close but at the same time too far away. Yugi looked him in the eye’s, didn’t dare look anywhere else. If he did he knew his eyes would fall just below them, to his lips. It was so tempting though, but his eyes. His eyes. They were pools of crimson wine and thanks to the glasses he could see the smallest hint of amethyst swimming within them. Or maybe he was just imagining it. Maybe it wasn’t there at all. God, he hoped it was.

 

“Yugi?” Atem’s voice cut through the silence like a hot knife and Yugi broke.

 

He kissed him. Or maybe it was the other way around. He didn’t know which one of them  moved first, if it even mattered. It felt so good. His lips were soft and God, when Atem’s hand grabbed the back of his head, pulled him in, tugged on his hair. Yugi gasped and Atem took full advantage of that. This time it was Yugi who grabbed Atem. Pulled him in. And when they finally parted for air… 

 

He dropped to the floor. The embarrassment sank in as soon as their lips parted and he realized what he had done. He kissed Atem. And Atem, he kissed him back and… Yugi covered his eyes. Oh, God, what did he do?

 

Atem blinked when Yugi was suddenly gone. No longer in front of him. He heard a groan from below the front counter and looked down to see Yugi sat against the counter, covering his face in embarrassment. He couldn’t help but chuckle at the scene.

 

“Are you alright down there?” Atem smiled.

 

“I can’t believe I did that,” Yugi shrank, hoping the floor would eat him.

 

Atem smiled and made his way around the counter, sitting down next to Yugi and draping an arm around him, “If my having glasses invokes that sort of response from you than I’d say they’re well worth it,”

 

“I hate you,”

 

“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear now haven’t you?”

 

“Ass,”

 

“Language,”

 

\---

 

“So glasses, hu?” Tea sat down at their normal booth at Burger World with her tray of food.

 

Yugi, Atem, and Joey were sat across from her with Tristen by her side. Duke and Bakura were in the booth right next to them so that they could turn around and be apart of the conversation as well.

 

“Let me guess, no more headaches?” Joey smirked.

 

“No more headaches,” Atem admitted with a sigh, “Sorry about being a hardass about it,”

 

“Hey, don’t apologize to me. I was just doing my job. Yug on the other hand had to deal with your moody butt for a whole week,” 

 

“We already made up,” Atem affirmed and Yugi blushed a little.

 

“Maybe now you’ll stop being so grumpy hu, four eyes,” Tristen teassed.

 

“Oh, stop,” Tea waked his shoulder, “Atem, I think you look very handsome and I’m not the only one who thinks so. All the girls at school went crazy when they saw you by the gate,”

 

“Yeah, you should have seen that fan club of yours. Tea was about ready to stab a few of them,” Joey added.

 

“I was not!” Tea yelled.

 

“Was too,” Tristen told her, “Bakura and I had to restrain you,”

 

“I don’t care much for that sort of thing,” Atem said, sipping his milkshake.

 

“That’s a lie,” Yugi was smug in his response, “Ow!” Yugi jumped from a pinch he received from the man next to him.

 

Yugi glared and Atem winked causing him to blush. A lot had happened in the few 24 hours after that kiss. They had to talk about it. Something like that wasn’t something one could just brush off and run away from. So they talked. All night long. Despite Atem’s increased amount of flirting over the weeks of his and Yugi’s separation, this was the first time anything ever came of it. Atem would get just close enough, imply things through twisted words and innuendos, and then pull away leaving Yugi and blushing and sputtering and wondering what the hell just happened. Atem had feelings for him, that was abundantly clear, but Yugi was still easing into the whole idea of being with a guy that way. For the longest time he only had eyes for Tea. There were those moments where he would notice other guys, Joey and Kaiba came to mind. They were certainly attractive, each with their own appeal, but he never really saw himself asking one of them out and definitely not kissing them out of the blue like he did with Atem. They were going to take things slow, see how it went. They weren’t going to tell anyone, at least not yet. Not until they were sure the relationship was going to work out.

 

Duke laughed, “Careful Yugi, he can fight back now,”

 

Atem smiled and his hand moved to grab Yugi’s, something so common for them but now with new meaning. Yugi curled his fingers around Atem’s and smiled back. He still felt bad for not telling any of them about the other new development between them but he could feel guilty about that later. For now he’ll just be happy with how things were.


	6. Kings and Queens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys insist Atem and Yugi are going out, Tea is not so sure, and Atem remembers the Queen he once swore he hated.

It was just another mundane study session of theirs, this time at Duke’s. Everything was normal, save for Yugi and Atem not being their. Nether would go into specifics as to what they were up to when they would run off but she was sure it was just them being their normal dorky selves, no matter what Joey tried to insinuate. 

 

“No Yugi or Atem today?” Duke asked, setting a six pack of soda onto the table, “Couldn’t even be bothered to call,”

 

“Ah, don’t go raining on their parade. Gramps is out of town for that conference in Tokyo this weekend. First time they’ve had the place to themselves in weeks. They’ll be banging each other until dawn,” Joey took a can.

 

“JOEY!” Tea’s face was so red it was glowing.

 

“What?” Joey asked, confused as to what exactly he said that was wrong.

 

“Don’t say those sorts of things! You don’t know what they’re doing,” she snapped at him.

 

“Yeah, they’re probably just on a date,” Duke said sitting down, “When they get home then they’re going to-”

 

“Duke, not you too!” Tea cried.

 

“What, you know that’s what they do. They’ve been running off in secret for months. They’re either dating or secret crime bosses,” Duke defended himself.

 

“Yugi’s not a crime boss, Duke,” Tea told him, “And how do we even know they’re dating? Yugi’s not gay and Atem’s tomb had a queen’s chamber,”

 

“Yeah, married for political reasons maybe. You know how royals are, he didn’t even like the chick. Trust me, the all mighty Pharaoh is a walking talking rainbow with glitter shooting out of his ass,” Joey told her.

 

“How would you even know all this?” she rose an eyebrow.

 

“Guy talk. He told me,” Joey said simply, “Duke and Tristan were there too,”

 

“I can confirm,” Tristan said.

 

“Honestly I wasn’t all that surprised,” Duke added with a laugh, “Joey was a bit disappointed though. That meant Atem didn’t have a harem after all,”

 

“Shut up, Duke!” Joey glared.

 

“Oh come on, we all know that was your top priority back in the millennium world,” it was Tristan’s turn to tease.

 

“You and Yuge were right there with me! Don’t you pretend!” Joey barked.

 

“No, I was concerned for the Pharaoh. He was held up in that palace without a clue as to what was going on and we couldn’t get in there to help him,” Tristan defended himself.

 

“Really? World in danger and all you wanted to do was take a peak in his private guardans,” Duke snickered.

 

“I thought I told you to shut up!” Joey made a move towards Duke but Duke slipped to the other side of the table before joey could grab him.

 

“Boys, knock it off!” Tea splits the two up with the help of Bakura.

 

“It’s none of our business what they do together,” the soft spoken European told them, “If they are dating then we should be happy for them and support them when they decide to come out and tell us. I’m sure they didn’t mean to forget about our plans,”

 

Tea knew Bakura was right. Neither were the type to just blow them off like that and they should be happy for them but at the same time she was sad. Not only were her two massive crushes now unavailable but they didn’t even trust her enough to tell her. It hurt deep in her core. All that time she had wasted debating between the two, second guessing herself, and comparing them, wondering how a relationship with a boy trapped inside a necklace was going to work, or what a relationship with someone who could switch personalities at any moment would be like. All that time and the two objects of her affections had already made the decision for her. Atem was gay and thus never going to be interested in her and Yugi wasn’t a straight as she had been lead to believe and his crush on her not as concrete as it might have once been. Yugi moved on from her, with Atem. And her? Well, she was left behind.

 

“Honestly though,” Joey’s voice was calm and serious as opposed to a few minutes ago, “I kinda always knew it was heading that way. When Yuge was willing to die in that fire just to be able to see Atem again, and that duel with evil Marik. They were more concerned about each other than anything else. Though the nail in the coffin was that battle with Zork, how they looked at one another,” 

 

“What, you going to go home and write a fanfic about them, maybe blog about it on the Duel Monsters forums?” Tristan started again.

 

“Shut your trap, Tristan! All I’m saying is that I’m happy for my little buddy!” Joey growled and once again they all had to set to work keeping Joey from tackling anybody.

 

A few days went by and the conversation that day was mostly forgotten by everyone. Everyone but Tea. She couldn’t get the recent development out of her head. Or alleged development. They didn’t know for sure. All that was more or less certain at this point was that Atem was gay. She wanted to hear it from him though. She wanted to hear him say those words. That he was Gay. That he and Yugi were dating. More importantly that she didn’t have a chance. 

 

So on Saturday she called him, asked if he could hang out. No Yugi, no Joey, just them. She was leaving for New York in a few months. She had gotten her acceptance letter from Julliard a few weeks ago after sending in her audition tape. They had never hung out together one on one before and time was running short. It was now or never. This was probably her only chance to have this talk with him.

 

He agreed, maybe a bit reluctantly, and they met up at the square, under the clock. He was dressed handsomely. A new leather jacket and dark jeans. He had contacts in, leaving his glasses at home, and she felt slightly saddened by this. She really did like him in those glasses. 

 

He greeted her wholeheartedly with a friendly smile on his face. He was much more enthusiastic than he was about their date a year and a half back. She tried not to let that icy dagger plunge too far into her heart. He had been tricked into that by Yugi, she reminded herself. He had been sour about that and his awkwardness showing. He didn’t understand social interactions back then. Now he does, so of course he’d be happier now than he was back then. 

 

They walked around, no real plan for what they wanted to do with their time, and just talked. About anything really. College came up and he told her how happy he was for her that she got into one of the most prestigious arts school on the planet. She blushed like crazy under his praise, about how she’ll be top of her class for sure and had nothing to worry about. She asked him about his plans, if he was sticking to Domino U. She had seen letter after letter from dozens of universities. Tokyo, Oxford, Yale, Princeton, Kyoto, Osaka. Word had seemed to have gotten out that Atem was someone of high class and influence. Top universities the world over were trying to catch his eye.

 

“I’m sticking with Domino. Yugi is going there so we’ll be taking our classes together,” He told her.

 

She expected that answer. He and Yugi were practically glued together. If Yugi was doing something Atem was not far behind and if Atem had to go somewhere out of country he’d ask Yugi at least five times if he wanted to tag along too.

 

“And what do you plan to study?” she asked nervously. She really hoped he wasn’t going to say game design like Yugi. She’d support him if he did but she also didn’t want him modeling himself after everything Yugi did.

 

“Business. I don’t want to be involved in politics anymore and I’m already handling most of the financial side of the game shop now anyway so it seems like the obvious choice,” he told her.

 

“Is that what you want to do?”

 

“It’s what I’m good at,”

 

“That’s not answering my question,”

 

“Tea,” Atem sighed in frustration, “I’m royalty. I’ve been conditioned since birth to be a leader. Wail the other kids were playing in the yards and streets I was being taught hieroglyphs and greek, when they went to study at the local temple I was learning prayers, rituals, and spellcasting, and when they went to help their parents in the fields and in the workshops I was being taught diplomacy and lawmaking. Every hour Ra was in the sky was dedicated to my training. It was dull, lonely, and exhausting at times but I bared it. It was the only thing I knew and I was fine with it. I still am. So, yes, it’s what I want,”

 

“Because you feel like you have to,”

 

“Because, surprise, surprise, I actually enjoy it. I’m being useful, something I didn’t think I could be when I first got here,” 

 

Tea smiled apologetically, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you upset, I just don’t want you making such a big life decision because you feel like you have to,”

 

Atem drew out a long breath and smiled as well, “It’s alright. You’re just trying to look out for me, like Yugi,”

 

“Speaking of Yugi, I have to ask. Don’t take this the wrong way or anything but I just want clarification,” Tea started and Atem looked at him questioningly, “A few days ago you two didn’t show up at our study session, the boys got talking, you know how Joey and Tristan are, but they implied some things about you. And about Yugi. Just thought I’d let you know,”

 

Atem had been looking down at his feet as she told him this and eventually slowed and stopped walking all together. Tea stopped as well.

 

“I noticed you have a bruise on your neck. It’s faded, a few days old…”

 

“So we’re talking about this then?” Atem refused to look at her.

 

“I just want to hear it from you,” she told him.

 

“Fine then, I’m gay,” he was almost dismissive, “There. Happy?”

 

There was a sort of sense of distress in his voice, like he wanted this conversation over and done with but was also too tired to have it. He just sounded done. Not the angered and frustrated done, but the type that was overworked and just wanted a nap.

 

“Atem-” Tea started but Atem interrupted her.

 

“And I know you have feelings for me, and for Yugi. I’m sorry I can’t reciprocate. I hope this won’t change anything,” he told her and she gave a sad smile.

 

“It’s okay,” she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder, “It hurts, yes, but it’s who you are and no one should ever tell you to be anything different. I like you because you’re you, so why would I force you to be anything else?”

 

“As for you and Yugi, well,” he looked up at her with the dusting of a blush on his cheeks as she continued, “It’s probably for the best anyway. It won’t be long before my move to New York. Long distance relationships rarely work, especially when there’s a certain handsome someone living right across the hall from the now abandoned boyfriend. I wouldn’t want to be the one to turn you into a green eyed monster anyway,”

 

“You’re referring to jealousy. I most likely would be irked by that, yes, or at least be gravely wounded at the idea that he would choose to replace me as his closest confidant and partner. It would hurt a lot,” he said at last.

 

“All the more reason for you two to be together,” Tea declared.

 

“I’m sorry for hurting you in that way, for taking Yugi away from you,”

 

“Well,” she circled her arm around his and tugged him along, “You can make it up to me at the arcade. A few rounds of DDR. Let’s see if you’re as graceful on your feet as you are with your cards,”

 

He looked at her in pure amazement as he was dragged down the street by the taller girl. Her reactions were not at all what he had predicted. No anger, no sadness, no denial, or refusal of facts. Just acceptance and the desire for confirmation. An open hand of healing and friendship.

 

He thought back to many years before, to a time where the sands were hot and the nights cool. A lifetime ago, where he ruled. To the one role he was forced to accept as he took the crown from his now deceased father and rose as the new Horus. He remembered his wife, whose eyes and face matched Tea’s, how her desire for him was not recuperated, how their wedding night dissolved into them spitting poison at each other on his private balcony. There were moments were they were tame with each other, where they spoke of one another fondly and with light air, and evenings shared that could be called love, but the moments where she would threaten the ordered execution of any slave boy or scribe that might catch his eye were just as frequent, and gods forbid if she ever caught him kissing another. It wasn’t love and neither were disillusioned to that. An understanding maybe. Shaky agreements made on even shakier ground. The only love he harbored for her was his love for the daughter he helped create. It was a cruelty he could never forgive himself for that still festered a dull ache in his heart to this day. He always thought, if Ra graced it, that they could have been good friends in another life. The life he remembered and the life she had forgotten was honestly why he had been avoiding interacting with Tea outside of their friend group for so long. But the days where they could see one another freely were numbered and she was still his friend. It would seem that the life he had prayed for millennia ago had finally come.

 

The joy that bloomed within his chest nearly overwhelmed him. He couldn’t help but let it out though gleeful laughter. They went all over town together, the King of Games being soundly defeated by the Queen of Dance, a game of laser tag they came out triumphant in. They browsed the shelves of a small local bookstore and stopped for lunch at a ramen stall. It was a day full of laughs and enjoyment, the two of them vowing to get together again sometime whenever they could find the chance. They parted ways as the sun began to dip below the horizon with smiles on their faces and warmth in their hearts.

 

“How was your day with Tea?” Yugi asked as Atem entered the younger’s room.

 

“Good,” Atem flopped down onto the bed.

 

Yugi had been at his desk putting the finishing touches on his graduation speech but got up and sat down beside the Pharaoh, “Just good?”

 

“Well, she had a few questions,” one of Yugi’s hands slid under Atem’s shirt and began petting his stomach muscles. They had gotten softer over time, still lean but less defined than they once were. Atem arched his back to meet Yugi’s touch, “She knows we’re dating,”

 

Yugi’s hand paused for a moment before continuing, “Does she now?”

 

“They all do. She just wanted to let me know,” Atem melted under his touch. 

 

“And she was fine with it?” Yugi slid his hand out from under Atem’s shirt and layed down on top of him.

 

Atem ran a hand through the younger’s hair and kissed his forehead, “She was. She wanted to wish us the best, though we should probably be more careful. You left a rather incriminating mark on my neck the other night,”

 

“You weren’t complaining when I left it,” Yugi pointed out.

 

“I was distracted,” Atem fired back with a slight tug of Yugi’s hair. 

 

This caused Yugi to look up which Atem took as an opportunity to kiss him. Yugi giggled and cuddled closer to him, ready to close his eyes and just lay there contently. Yugi would probably have a lot of questions to answer come tomorrow morning and he would have to think of some way to make it up to everyone for ditching them. Sleep sounded really good right now though and the soft even breaths coming from the man under him said that Atem was well on his way to passing out too. Yugi always liked these moments between them the best, more than the sex even, though that was pretty high up there too. Lazy cuddling like this only really came when Atem was in a particularly pleasant mood, where all stress would leave him, if only for a little while. He’ll have to thank Tea for that too. Whatever she did or said to him took a weight off his shoulders. Maybe he’ll ask later. Right now a nap sounded really good.


End file.
